1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective storage systems for dolls, and more particularly, to a protective system for antique dolls including a body cover which is wrapped around the doll.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Antique dolls have in recent years become highly valuable collectors' items. The value of such dolls has risen approximately twenty percent per year since the early 1970's. Due to the age of such dolls, both the doll body, its head and its extremities as well as its wig and each item of clothing are extremely fragile and prone to breakage or damage.
Many antique dolls utilize bisque heads made from a form of porcelain clay which has been baked into a highly brittle form. A bisque doll head includes a hollow interior with a thin walled surface. An aperture is included in the rear wall of the head for the purpose of inserting eyes during original manufacture. Glass eyes are installed through the open back of the doll head and are attached to the doll head by small globs of plaster.
The bisque heads of antique dolls can readily crack or be shattered. When stored or moved, an antique doll should be placed face down to permit the comparatively heavy weight of the glass eyes to be supported by the eye apertures of the bisque head. If stored or transported face up, the weight of the glass eyes pulls them away from the doll face and can break the plaster maintaining them in place. If the doll eye becomes detached from the head, it can fall back onto and break the bisque head as well as the eye itself. Antique dolls with cracked or broken heads or with glass eyes which have been reset or replaced have less value than original condition dolls.
The value of antique dolls is based on an overall analysis of the entire doll, including the condition of the doll body, its wig and clothing.
The body sections of antique dolls are typically fabricated as either composition bodies or leather bodies. Composition bodies are fabricated from paper mache and wood painted with a flesh tone. Composition bodies may also be fabricated from paper pulp or wood pulp and glue. Such composition bodies can readily break. The fingers of such doll bodies are particularly prone to damage. The paint used to impart the appropriate coloration to composition doll bodies can readily chip and flake. Any such damage significantly reduces the value of an antique doll.
A second type of antique doll includes a leather body fabricated from a leather shell stuffed with sawdust or shredded cork and includes arms and hands made of bisque. Frequently, the lower legs of leather bodied antique dolls are also made from bisque. Each component of such leather bodied antique dolls can readily be damaged or broken, substantially reducing the market value of the doll.
Antique bisque head dolls include wigs made either from human hair, mohair or sheep skin. Due to age, doll wigs are fragile and difficult to replace or repair. Constant mussing of an old wig causes matting and can ruin the original hair style. It is therefore critically important to provide protection not only for the head of the doll, but also for its high value wig.
Antique doll clothes represent an important part of the value of the doll. The fabric in antique dolls is fragile and easily shreds or tears. Due to these problems, it is preferable to maintain the doll clothing as undisturbed as possible during storage or transport to maximize the value of the doll.
The original shoes and socks on antique dolls are valuable, very rare and almost impossible to replace. The leather and fasteners used in antique doll shoes are typically brittle and do not fit tightly or securely on the doll's foot. It is therefore important to prevent either damage or loss to these important antique doll accessories.
The growing number of individuals involved in antique doll collecting and resale have been well aware of the breakage, alteration and loss problems described above and have attempted to solve these problems by relying on protective covers such as paper, Turkish towels and disposable baby diapers. When an antique doll is wrapped up in a Turkish towel, it is impossible to determine which way the doll's head is facing. It is therefore impossible to properly place the doll face down to minimize potential eye/head damage with any such doll wrapping. The brittle composition fingers of antique dolls are readily snapped off and caught on the toweling material when a doll is wrapped or unwrapped. Antique dresses are damaged and shoes and socks lost as a doll is rolled up inside a Turkish towel or disposable paper diapers. Antique doll wigs are frequently mussed and matted by such prior art protection systems. Utilization of such unacceptable prior art doll protection systems has damaged dolls and caused substantial value reductions.
None of these crude, primitive prior art antique doll protection systems have provided an integrated system which deals with each individual potential doll damage site as described above. Instead such prior art systems have caused damage either to the doll clothing, doll fingers or toes, doll head and eyes or shoes and socks.